London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Oct 25, 2025

Security review under way after Hancock film leak

Security review under way after Hancock film leak

A security review is under way at the Department of Health after footage of Matt Hancock kissing his aide was leaked to a national newspaper.

Ministers said the material was captured by departmental CCTV rather than a covert camera.

The Sun said it was passed the recordings by a whistleblower, amid concerns about security in government.

But Labour said the "biggest scandal" was ministers using private email accounts for official business.

On Friday, material of Mr Hancock and Gina Coladangelo emerged, triggering alarm that sensitive meetings and conversations by ministers may be being monitored.

Several ministers have expressed surprise at the presence of CCTV in a government office.

Questioned on a visit to Batley and Spen in West Yorkshire, the prime minister said he was "sure all that kind of thing is going to be looked into".

The security review will be accompanied by a separate investigation into whether there are any implications for arrangements in Parliament.

Asking an urgent question in the Commons, Conservative MP Peter Bone said the issues raised were of "national concern".

He said there was a long-standing rule that secret recordings of MPs by the police, security services or state are outlawed under a principle known as the "Wilson doctrine", named after the former prime minister, Harold Wilson.

Responding, Cabinet Office minister Julia Lopez said the government took concerns about security "very seriously".

She said the footage was recorded by departmental CCTV - which has since been disabled - rather than a covert camera.

But Labour's Chris Bryant said it "blows my mind" that Ms Lopez was suggesting that Mr Hancock knew there was a camera in his office.

And former minister Angela Eagle said Mr Hancock "would not have behaved in the way he behaved right in front of it" if he knew the recording device had been there, adding: "I think she's stretching credibility."


The Cabinet Office's confirmation that the images appear to have come from departmental CCTV rather than any covert camera reduces the sense that this might be a major national security risk.

If someone had infiltrated a camera then it would have raised issues about whether offices needed to be more regularly swept for devices (a time-consuming task, insiders say, especially when lots of people have access).

And given it looks to have been leaked by an insider, there does not appear to have been any role for cyber-espionage or a hostile state which require MI5 to become involved.

But it still leaves some serious security questions unresolved.

Cameras are not normally in private offices so why was this one present?

Was it left over after an office was reconfigured? And why was Matt Hancock unaware of it?

There is also the question of access to CCTV footage.

Parliamentarians want to know which contractors or staff are able to view such images and whether there are sufficient controls and vetting of those individuals.

Private email concerns


Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner told MPs that the issue of private email being used to to conduct government business raised serious questions.

She waved minutes of a departmental meeting, in which she said "senior civil servants report government contracts being approved from the minister's private email address", and said the matter needed to be referred to the information commissioner.

"Our country faces daily threats from hostile foreign states," she added.

"What does it say about this government when they will launch an inquiry into leaks of CCTV but not into their own ministers?"

Ms Lopez said: "Government guidance is that official devices, email accounts and communications applications should be used for communicating classified information."

But she said "other forms of electronic communication may used in the course of conducting government business" and "each minister is responsible for ensuring that government information is handled in a secure way".

She added at the height of the pandemic, ministers were receiving a "huge volume of correspondence" from various sources on their work and their private accounts.

She said: "There were 15,000 offers of help in securing PPE that came in following the prime minister's call for assistance.

"The important thing to note is that when PPE offers did come in, they went through the same eight-stage process, so no matter which way those things were communicated, they went through the same process and that should provide assurance."

The Metropolitan Police said it was "aware of the distribution of images alleged to have been obtained within an official government premises".

But it added: "No criminal investigation has been launched. At this time this remains a matter for the relevant government department."


MPs question a claim that a camera, used to capture Matt Hancock and his aide kiss, "was not covert"


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
×